Southwest Corridor / Park Management Advisory Council (PMAC)
Wednesday, March 1, 2017, 7pm
MINUTES

[1.] Public safety updates –

* Districts E13, D4, B2, State and Northeastern Police attended the meeting.

* Reports from each jurisdiction covered incidents in or near the park and crime reports for the areas adjacent to the SWC.

* BPD, State, Northeastern and MBTA police will participate in bike patrols again this summer.

* Extra patrols around Bromley-Heath, Jackson Square this summer from 4 to midnight.

* A priority this summer will be attention to any drug activity. Police make referrals to support services as much as possible.

* District E-13 presented a chart with citywide year-to-date part 1 crime statistics. District E-13 has a 36% reduction in part 1 crimes compared to the same time last year.

* We are interested to see if DCR has funding for DCR Summer Nights again this year – it was a good series last year.

[2.] Community projects update –

Summary: We welcomed new acting park manager, Ben Gedeon, who attended the meeting. Much of the meeting focused on a review of ongoing projects. Next steps include organizing some of the documents to provide history and background on these projects:

  • We reported out on a small group PMAC/SWCPC meeting with DCR. On February 23rd, Jennifer Leonard, Franco Campanello and Tracy O’Brien met with new acting park manager Ben Gedeon and regional managers Evelyn Jimenez and Rick Woodward. We shared a summary of some of the ongoing projects for the Southwest Corridor Park, as well as ongoing maintenance requests, volunteer and garden support needs, and other communications. DCR staff shared updated contact information for key departments, including the new playgrounds coordinator and others.

Subcommittee report-outs:

  • Bicycle-walking path subcommittee:
  • David Wean summarized the 2015 bicycle-pedestrian path survey and the striping/stenciling request. We will share these materials with Ben.
  • David summarized other projects and priorities of the path subcommittee, including coordination with the City of Boston around intersections and coordination with Northeastern University around the sections of the path along the science building and Carter playground. We will also share these memos and materials with Ben (via a folder of documents on the website).
  • Jennifer mentioned the possibility of future collaboration with the Melnea Cass bike path around signage and design.
  • Discussion of the option of making a curbcut on Claremont St./Claremont Park to facilitate bicycle travel along that section. There are clear advantages, for bicyclists, wheelchair users and DCR maintenance vehicles.
  • Greenway Extension Project
  • Frederick summarized some of the history and the current status of the Greenway extension project. Next steps will be to re-open discussion through state rep office and DCR property office.
  • There was also discussion about possible additional MBTA land around Jackson Sq.
  • Dog park – briefly mentioned that the dog park subcommittee is actively looking at options.
  • Other projects:
  • Looking at possible volunteer projects for Northeastern University’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor day April 6th and DCR’s Park Serve day April 29th.
  • Mini-grant RFP to be shared soon.
  • Jennifer briefly described children’s field trip from Bromley Heath to Roxbury Community College and meeting with Simon Properities – goal is building partnerships along the park. The Roxbury Community College clean energy project is interesting and a good demonstration of the potential for clean energy – solar panels over the parking lot and geothermal energy from under the parking lot.
  • General discussion
  • We are sharing the 2016 highlights one-page document with city and state representatives and with various city and community agencies. This is one way to highlight the importance of the Southwest Corridor Park and highlight the work of the volunteer networks, in partnership with DCR.

Contacting DCR:

Ben Gedeon can be contacted by email: